Canadian colleges have seen a surge in applications from the U.S. following President Donald Trump’s threats to higher education institutions.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver, University of Toronto, and University of Waterloo, told The Guardian they have seen a “meaningful increase” in applications from people living in the U.S. following the opening of their March 1 application window.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funding from universities that do not comply with their anti-protest, anti-diversity, equity and inclusion measures (DEI), and deportation orders. It is arresting and attempting to deport international students who have attended pro-Palestine protests.
These actions appear to be making students in the U.S. reluctant to continue their studies at universities that may either have no funding or no First Amendment freedoms, so they are choosing to go elsewhere. This may create a brain drain in the U.S., which will have significant long-term implications.
Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo
What To Know
The Trump administration recently froze $2.2 billion from Harvard University’s federal grants and is threatening to tax its endowment after the university refused to change its admission policies, roll back DEI, or change protest rules on campus.
This is one of many threats to funding made against U.S. institutions, citing alleged antisemitism at the schools due to pro-Palestine activism on campus and accusations that the schools were being unjust due to their DEI measures.
Students in the U.S. who are able to apply to schools abroad appear to be taking that opportunity, as opposed to attending universities at home that have shaky futures.
UBC saw a 27-percent rise in graduate applications from U.S. citizens as of March 1 compared to 2024. The University of Toronto has said it has seen a “meaningful increase” in students, especially to their renowned engineering program, and the University of Waterloo has seen a 15-percent increase in web traffic interest in their school since September 2024.
Most of the new applications are from graduate students, as the undergraduate application season is already over. However, UBC has seen a 20-percent rise in requests for campus tours from prospective U.S. undergraduate students.
The universities did not clarify whether applications were from American citizens, or foreign students looking to move from the U.S. to Canada.
This news from Canada is consistent with the report from Nature which found 75 percent of U.S. scientists are looking to leave the country.
This loss in students could lead to a significant brain drain in the United States. This phenomenon occurs when talented and educated people leave their home countries and contribute to progress and economies of somewhere else.
Brain drains can lead to a loss in socioeconomic potential in an affected country, a loss in skilled workers and thinkers especially in key sectors such as healthcare and education, and a loss of tax revenue for public spending.
Writing in Politico, British commentator and author John Kampfner said, “The U.S. brain drain has begun.” He said that while the U.S. was once a safe haven for academics and scientists fleeing other authoritarian regimes, now, academics are looking for pathways out of the country.”
What People Are Saying
Gage Averill, UBC Vancouver’s provost and vice president of academics, told The Guardian the rise in applications was likely “…a result, and especially as a result of the very recent crackdown on visas in the United States for international students, and now the development of a center that’s reading foreign students’ social media accounts.”
John Kampfner wrote in Politico: “That legacy [of American academia] is now going up in smoke, thanks to a White House that appears hell-bent on destroying not just economic and political paradigms, but a higher education system that really did make America great—though seemingly not for long.”
A plant genomics and agriculture graduate student speaking with Nature: “This is my home—I really love my country, but a lot of my mentors have been telling me to get out, right now.”
What Happens Next
Despite the rise in interest in Canadian schools, it is not possible for all students to choose them instead of American schools. Ottawa has capped the number of international students allowed at the country’s institutions based on capacity, so this increase in U.S. applications will not be matched by an increase in spaces.
Other countries, such as France and Australia, are actively recruiting U.S. students to join their universities.
